Positive announcements from Ministers

Northern Ireland’s construction materials suppliers welcome government Ministers’ statements

ORGANIZATIONS representing companies who supply materials into the Northern Ireland construction industry have warmly welcomed recent announcements by the Finance Minister, Social Development Minister, Environment Minister and the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Sammy Wilson outlined how the introduction of a new payment method – Project Bank Accounts – will help safeguard subcontractor payments in many government construction projects, while Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland outlined his proposals for a Social Housing Reform Programme.

In addition, Sammy Wilson and Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster this week concluded a series of meetings with local banks, in an effort to ensure that businesses have access to the finance they need. ‘Although there are still issues to be faced, I believe significant progress has been made,’ commented Mr Wilson.

Arlene Foster added: ‘During the discussions, we were also able to explore what more can be done, by both the banking sector and government, to assist our local businesses in the current economic climate. This will include the ongoing development of complementary Access to Finance products by Invest Northern Ireland.’

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Alex Atwood has granted full planning permission for the Northern Ireland Community Safety College – a 23,000 square metre joint services training facility for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, to be built near Cookstown.

Gordon Best (pictured), regional director of the Quarry Products Association NI (QPANI), said: ‘It is only the start of 2013 and the Ministers are certainly out of the starting blocks very quickly with these important announcements that will hopefully have a very positive effect on both workloads within the construction sector and the ability to get paid within reasonable time frames, thus improving cash flow and protecting jobs.’

He continued: ‘The construction industry representative organizations have built up a very good working relationship with Executive Ministers over the past two years and we commend them for their willingness to engage with us.

‘Certainly, my own organization – and I am sure I speak for everyone else in QPANI’s partner organizations – looks forward to continuing its important work with Executive Ministers to ensure that important infrastructure maintenance and development gets on the ground quickly and that the payment process for that work is prompt and fair.’